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Samuel Dickson Selvon was born in San Fernando, Trinidad in 1923
to an Indian father and a half-Indian mother. He attended Naparimo
College in his early teenage years and served as a wireless
operator for the Royal Naval Reserve during WWII. After the war, he
worked for five years as a journalist for the Trinidad
Guardian. Spurred by the depressed economic situation in
Trinidad, Selvon moved to London in 1950, where he launched his
literary career, publishing five novels between 1952 and 1958. In
1978, he moved to Calgary, Alberta, but he was never fully
integrated into any clear notion of Canadian Literature. Preparing
to return to Canada after an illness, he died in Trinidad in
1994.

Selvon wrote eleven full-length works …

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4009Samuel Dickson Selvon1Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.